Paper feeding mechanism



July 25, 1933.

I. c KLEPPER I PAPER FEEDIN:G MECHANISM Filed Nov. 30. 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l July 25, 1933. I. c. KLEPPER PAPER FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 30, 1931 HG.5 3mm 4m 6 MW? 19w JJM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Patented July 25, 1933 IRVING C.

KLEPPER, or onnvnneivn, oHIo, ,ASSIGNOR foMUL'rIGnAPn oonrrnlvmor WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

PAPER FEE-DING MECHANISM ,7

Application filed November 30, 1931. Serial No. 577,973.

The object of this invention is to provide a simple and effective mechanism for the accurate and certain feeding of paper sheets.

The invention is useful in conjunction with printing machinery, folding machinery, et

cetera. It acts on=a manually advanced pile of superimposed sheets to feed thebottom sheet and at the same time accurately guide I it, whereby a perfect fold or perfect registration may be obtained in the subsequently acting mechanism.

e To the above end, I provide a supporting bar extending across the front of the mecha- H nism to which the paper is to be fed; and I mount on this cross bar, adjacent its ends,

two adjustably positioned guides engaging the under face and the edges of the bottom sheet, and I secure to'the cross bar, between these guides, a frame carrying a feed-roll :39 adapted to coact with anunder roll and carrying also mechanism for bending the lowerniost sheet slightly about the ends of such under rollto prevent slippage and insure an W accurate feed.v My invention is more fully hereinafter described in connection with the drawings, and its essential and novel features are summarized in the claims.

The drawings illustrate a preferred em bodiment of my invention. Fig, 1 .1s a plan partly broken away of the feeding .mechanism and a roller of the machine to which the paper is to be fed; Fig.2 is a sectional side elevation of the same, as in? W dicated by the line 22 on Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective of a portion of one of the paper guides clamped to the supporting bar; Figd is a central longitudinal section to the feeding rollers, as indicatedby the line k-lpn Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a transverse section in a plane indicated by the line 5-5 on Fig. 4, showing the feeding roller arrangement in end elevation.

As indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, A and A designate a pairof rollers of a folding ma-' 5 chine, or printing machine, or some other mechanism to which the paper is fed. These rollers are mounted in-a suitable frame indicated at B. To enable my mechanismv to be accurately positioned with reference to the 0 rollers, I provide first a transverse'supportlsection, except that the front top .edge 'is 'chamfered, as indicated at 12, for a purpose 2 sired.

ing bar which is shown as 's'ecured by bolts 11 to suitable arms 6 formed on the frame B. This bar 10.is rectangular in" cross hereinafter described. V

Secured to the front side o'f .theframeB, as by a suitable'bracket 15,.is a plate 16 on which my feeding mechanism may rest, :and

extending through thisplate is theunder feed roller 40, hereinafter described, the

shaft 41 of which may be journalled in the bracket-15, orbe otherwise. mounted as de- To properly particularly the bottom sheet which is the one engaged and fed, 1 provide specially formed guide members which rest on the plate r 16 but are adjustably mounted onfthe crossbar 10 land held inposition thereby. Each guide member consists of aibar 20having a vertical inner face 21 anda flat plate 22"secured(as' by screws 23, Fig. to the underside of the bar 20. The plate'22 has a smooth top and snuglyjoins thebottom of them, and the bottom sheetofjpaperdesignated C in Fig. 5 restson the plate22 and" is guided, at its edge, by the vertical wall:21.

Each bar 20 is formed at its rear edge with-Y a -1ip'25 adapted to lie beneaththe crossbar 1.0 and. with a rear flange 26' adapted to'en gage-the back edge of that cross bar, as

shown in Fig. 3. The guide bar is also proi v vided with a vertically extending transverse fweb 27 which stands some distancejinfrontf of the crossbarlO and terminates in a rear face of the bar, and .its web 26 to bear snugly a ainsttherear edge of the ban: At the siime time, the body of the guide bears down onjthe plate 16, thedirectionoffthe chamfer guide the pile of sheets, and

the bar 20 so that there is no crack between 12 and the screw 29 being selected to effect this result. Y

The construction of the guide bar just described enables the sheets to be very accurately positioned. By merely loosening the screws29, the bars may be shifted laterally, according to the width of thepaper to be fed, so'that the vertical surfaces 21 may be brought close to the edges of the paper sheets; while the bottom plates 22 prevent even the thinnest sheet working under the guide bar.

' The same cross bar 10 which carries the guide bars, carries also my feeding unit. This comprises a frame bracket 30 secured by bolts 3lto the cross bar 10; an extension bracket 32 secured by screws 33 t0 the under side of the main bracket 30; a swing ing housing 35 pivoted to the bracket 32 by means of a rod 36, and a roller 37 carried by the housing. A spring 38, embracing the rod 36,-tends to' lift the housing and roller 37; and a screw 39,'mounted in the frame bracket 30 and pushing downwardly against the top of the housing'35, limits the upward movement thereof. In this manner, the roll 37 maybe accurately positioned.

Beneath the'roll 37 is the coacting feed roll 40 heretofore mentioned. On one end of the shaft 41 of this rollis shown a sprocket wheel 44 connected by. a sprocket chain 45 with a sprocket wheel 46 011 the shaft of the roller A of. the machine to be served. The roller 40 is driven at the same peripheral speed as the rollers A and A. This may be readily effected by making the roller 40 of the same diameter as the roller A, and making the two sprocket wheels, 44 and 46 of one diameter, as illustrated in the drawings.

The upper feed roller 37 is positioned with. reference to the roller 40 by turning the screw 39 to increase or decrease the pass between the rollers, according to the thickness of the paper to be fed. The screw 39, acting against a mid-region of the housing supported by the spring, enables the roller 37 to be positioned evenly and accurately by simply operating the single screw 39. :To'insure the sheet being grasped by the rollers 37 and 40, I provide a pair of fingers 50, pivotally mounted in the feeding unit and adapted to shove downward 011 the paper slightly beyond the ends of the roller 40 to bend the paper about the roller, as

, shown at 0 in Fig. 5. I have found that 'mounted on the cross bar 36 on which is this insures the engagement ofthe paper and causes reliable feeding.

Asshown in the'drawings, the two fingers 50 are fiat bars extending edgewise and mounted the roller housing 35. The fingers are connected near their upper ends by a cross bar 53 to which' is secured, centrally, an ear 54in which is anchored a tension ing a transverse supporting bar, a

spring 55. The other end of this spring is shown as anchored to a plate 56 formed on a nut 57 on the screw 39. A screw 59 passes through the .bar 53 and abuts the edge of the frame plate 30, and thus limits the downward movementof the lower end of the fingers 50. As shown, the screw 59 also serves the purpose of longitudinally positioning the ear 54whichis a piece of sheet metal embracingthe'rod 53. 1

-The fingers 50 extend diagonally down.- ward and rearward and are gradually curved at their lower edges, as shown at 51. Accordingly, the space between these lower edges and the plane defining the top of the guide wings 2.2 approximates, in shape, the form of .the edge-of a fanned-outpile of sheets; and therefore the curved edges 51 of the fingers serve to properly hold back the sheets of paper above the bottom sheet, as well as to press the bottom sheet about the'lower feed roller 40 to an. extent readily determined-by the screw 59. I F or certain grades or weights of paper, the fingers 50 maybe unnecessary, and they can then be rendered idle by turning in the screw 59 approximately to its limit,- but the end of the lower feed; roll.

My entire mechanism'is simple in construction, and may be readily attached to machines to be fed. It is easily adjustable for dilferent size sheets and different thicknesses and grades of paper, and to glvethe right amount of pressure on the. sheet to bend it just sufficiently to insure its proper feeding.

The sheet, ;while being fed, is

effectively supported by the'guidewings 22 and guided by the vertical surfaces of the bars. 'I-lowever, the mere-loosening of the guide bar screws enables the guides to be positioned as .desired for different widths,

of paper.

Iclaim: i 1. A paper feeding mechanism,

comprispair of guide bars adjustably clamped to the supporting bar, and a centrally located rotary feeding unit carried by the supporting bar between the guide bar j l v 2. In a device of'the character described, the combination of a supporting bar adapted to be secured across the front of'a machine to be fed, a feeding unit comprising a bracket carried by the supporting bar and a roller mounted in a member pivoted to said bracket, and adjustable with reference to a coacting lower roller, guides for the sheet of paper to'be fed by the rollers, each guide comprising a bar adjustably clamped to said supportingbar.

and opposite side means adapted to guide paper beneath the fingers, and spring means actingon the.

farther apart than the length of the rolls and respectively adjacent the opposite ends of the upper roll, each finger having its ,l0w-

er front edge curved downwardly and rearwardly and adapted to extend beyond a prolongation of the lower r011. v

20. In a paper feeding -1nechanism the combination of a feed .roll, a surmounting roll, a .pair of diagonally located fingers adjacent the opposite ends of the two rolls, said fingers being farther apart than the length of the rolls and being pivotally carriedand inclining away from the paper supply to' intercept the path of the paper between the rolls.

IRVING C. KLEPPER.

ylindrical surface of the vll5 

